Bay Area News

Palo Alto: City council to discuss proposals for 'energy/compost facility'

By Jason Green

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted:
02/08/2014 12:15:08 AM PST

Updated:
02/08/2014 12:52:33 AM PST

Two companies have the necessary qualifications to build a facility in Palo Alto that would help the city realize its lofty zero-waste goals, according to a new report from the Public Works Department.

Harvest Power and We Generation Inc. were both deemed responsive to the city's request for proposals from firms to construct and operate an "energy/compost facility" at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant and possibly a portion of Byxbee Park set aside by voters in 2011.

The request for proposals was sparked by a desire to process biosolids (treated sewage sludge), yard trimmings and food scraps locally.

A third company, Synagro, also made the cut, but its proposal calls for shipping all three of the waste streams to facilities up to 100 miles away from Palo Alto, according to the report.

On Monday, the city council is scheduled to hold a study session on the proposals, as well as a "biosolids facility plan" that involves retiring the Regional Water Quality Control Plant's 42-year-old incinerators.

The city currently incinerates its biosolids and ships yard trimmings and commercial food scraps to Z-Best in Gilroy to be composted. Residential food scraps are sent to a landfill outside of Palo Alto.

Just one of the proposals would require a slice of Byxbee Park. Harvest Power of Waltham, Mass., would use 3.8 acres to compost yard trimmings. Following a campaign that pitted local environmentalists against one another, voters resoundingly agreed in November 2011 to "undedicate" 10 acres of the landfill-turned-park for a possible energy/compost facility.

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The proposal also calls for wet anaerobic digestion to turn food scraps into biogas, which can then be combusted to create energy, and thermal drying to make biosolids suitable for agricultural use.

Houston-based We Generation would use thermal hydrolysis and wet anaerobic digestion to turn food scraps and biosolids into biogas. But yard trimmings would be trucked to Newby Island in Milpitas for composting. The proposal would result in the greatest amount of biogas, according to the report.

The proposal submitted by Synagro calls for shipping biosolids to a composting facility 100 miles away in Merced County and yard trimmings and food scraps to Z-Best. Although superior to the current practice of incinerating biosolids, the Baltimore-based company's proposal would have an overall negative greenhouse gas impact, the report notes.

A financial analysis of the three proposals, as well as a final recommendation from city staff, is expected this spring.

The report indicated that city staff will actually push a fourth option -- one that involves the city building its own facility at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant to turn biosolids and food scraps into biogas. The goal would be to have the digesters up and running by 2019.

Yard trimmings would continue to be sent to Z-Best because of cost efficiencies, but the "proposed organics facilities plan" would leave open the option to process them locally if and when better technology emerges.

WHAT: The Palo Alto City Council is scheduled to hold a study session on a potential “energy/compost facility” at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant and possibly part of Byxbee Park.WHEN: Monday, 6 p.m.WHERE: Council Chambers, City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.